Whumptober 2019- Trembling
by Frankie McStein
Summary: AU ending to 1x19. He'd been hoping the constant flow of blood would keep her wound clean. It hadn't


The fire was burning brightly; Magnum was relieved to see it look so hot. But Higgins was still hunched over herself.

"You still cold?" He could see her trembling and knew it was a stupid question. And, sure enough, he got a sarcastic answer.

"No, not at all. In fact, I could use some air conditioning." She didn't look at him though. Sarcasm was good; it meant she had some energy still. But the lack of eye contact when she usually used sarcasm as a challenge was worrying. He sighed heavily as he crouched down, ready to jump back up if she needed him to.

"What can I do? How can I help?" He hated feeling so lost and sighed again as she shook her head.

"Nothing. It's a mixture of blood loss and exposure and…" She didn't say fear, but she didn't have to. She was smart enough to know that even their fire wasn't going to do them much good unless someone just happened to be passing through the area.

He opened his mouth to say something but lost the words as she shivered, wincing as the movement tugged on her arm and shifted overexerted muscles.

"You're still way too cold." He didn't even try to hide his frustration and wasn't surprised when she turned her head to look at him.

"You will be too in a few more hours." She sounded almost resigned. "Once the sun goes down." And another shiver wracked her body. He moved, closing the space between them and dropping to the ground behind her. He shifted forward, sliding his legs on either side of hers and wrapping his arms, very carefully, around her shoulders and tugging gently, encouraging her to lean back against him.

She didn't resist but did tense slightly. "What are you doing, Magnum?" Her voice wasn't quite strong enough to pull off the flat tone she was going for, but he couldn't help the small smile at her attempt to act like everything was normal.

"Sharing body heat. It's an accepted medical practice in the absence of any other heat source," he told her, knowing that her medical training was better than that of the average citizen and that she would be infuriated by him explaining it to her. "See, you're too cold, and I'm just fine. So, we sit close, like this. My body radiates heat, and your body absorbs it." He shifted a little, tipping his weight a bit farther forward and stretching his lower back with a barely stifled groan.

"Course it would be better if we had some blankets. But, between me and the fire, you should warm up a little." He waited for a reply, but all he got was a sleepy sounding hum.

Magnum raised an eyebrow at that. He hadn't intended for her to fall asleep but, after literally dying following a swim that had left him, with all his training, feeling wiped out, he couldn't even imagine how utterly exhausted she must be feeling. Add the blood loss to that, and he was actually surprised she hadn't fallen asleep while he was catching his breath earlier.

He shifted his one arm lower so it was holding her waist, wincing as she moved her head, thinking he had disturbed her. He started talking again, hoping the sound of his voice would soothe her.

"Then there's that wonderful story about how you need to be naked for it work. In some cases, that's actually meant to be true. If their clothes are wet, usually." He stopped, painfully aware of the fact that he didn't know a whole lot more about sharing body heat. "Higgins?" Nothing, not even a hum, and a sudden wave of panic rose up in him. He let go of her waist and pressed his fingers against her neck, counting the pulse with a sort of single-minded dedication that drove every other thought out of his head. He counted for well over a minute before he managed to convince himself she really was just asleep and hadn't stopped breathing again.

His arm dropped back down to her waist, and he shifted again, making sure every possible inch of him was pressed against every possible inch of her. She hadn't made it this far through this awful day just to die from hypothermia with a perfectly warm SEAL right there with her.

At some point, he had no idea when, Magnum had drifted off. Lulled by the flames and Higgins' slow, rhythmic breaths, Magnum had succumbed to the exhaustion that had been pulling at him since before he had reached the atoll. Seeing Higgins slipping under the waves had given him a rush of adrenaline that had easily carried him through, but, sitting still, assured that she was alive and safe, had seen the last remaining vestige of energy slip away.

It wasn't the noise of the coughing that woke him but the feeling of Higgins shaking in his arms. His head jerked up as he woke, but he didn't notice the stiffness in his neck. All his attention was immediately focused on Higgins and the way she was gasping for breath.

"Hey, hey! It's okay, Higgy. You're okay, just breathe." He pulled his hand away from her shoulders, leaning back slightly to hold her weight as he rubbed her arm, hoping it would help somehow. She struggled to catch her breath for a few seconds after the coughing finally ended and then seemed to sink back against him.

"Higgins? How you doing, girl?"

She didn't answer, and he waited patiently, thinking she was just gathering herself a little. But the seconds ticked by, and she still didn't answer.

"Higgy?"

The only reaction she gave was a quiet sigh, and he suddenly realized she was still trembling even though she didn't feel cold anymore.

His entire body tensed as he realized what was happening, and he quickly shifted his grip and lowered Higgins to the ground. He pressed his hand to her forehead and frowned at the heat that was radiating off her. He'd rather desperately hoped that the constant flow of blood from the bullet wound in her arm would have kept out the worst of the dirt from the ocean water, but apparently not. She was too warm, even for someone who had spent the last however long it had been sandwiched between another person and a fire.

"Higgins? I need you to wake up. Can you do that?" He shook her shoulder a little frantically and huffed in relief as her eyes blinked open.

"Magnum?" She sounded so tired and confused that he felt his body ache in sympathy. "'S warm now." Her eyes started to drift closed again, and Magnum felt the worry slicing through him.

He pulled the makeshift bandage off her arm as carefully as he could, wincing as she gave a quiet moan of pain. Sure enough, the skin around the wound was red and puffy, and the edges of the wound itself looked dark and angry.

There was something close to desperation clouding around the back of Magnum's mind. He knew if her temperature got too high she could have a seizure, but he couldn't remember how high it could go until that was a risk. And he had no way of accurately measuring her temperature anyway. For all he knew, he only had minutes to act. And he hated what he had to do. But saving her was his priority.

He crouched next to her and scooped her up, standing carefully and adjusting her weight in his arms before picking his way slowly over to the edge of the atoll. The waves rushed over his feet as he went deeper into the water, wading through until he was standing nearly thigh-deep in the ocean. He looked down at Higgins' flushed face, taking just a second to apologize to her before tightening his grip and dropping to his knees, plunging Higgins into the water.

Her reaction was instant and heartbreaking. Her eyes flew open, but they were glazed and dull, and she tried desperately to move her arms and legs, crying out at the pain as her injured arm refused to listen to her brain's commands.

"Please," she gasped, nearly sobbing. "Please don't let me die!" The panic on her face was almost more than Magnum could bear, and he squeezed his eyes closed as he kept her under the water.

"I'm sorry. Just a little bit longer." It hit him suddenly, and he arched his back to press his lips to her ear. "One more mile," he whispered to her, hoping the words would sink into her fevered mind. "Just one more mile, Juliet."

Magnum was starting to feel like he was utterly helpless, his best efforts just delaying the inevitable. After the first, heart-wrenching time he tried to cool Higgins in the ocean, she had stopped responding. Even though he was using his hand as a thermometer, he could tell her fever was still climbing. He knew he couldn't keep her cold in case she went into shock. So he had spent what felt to his aching body like days climbing in and out of the water. He kept the fire as high as he could to make sure he could keep her warm and to act as a signal to anyone who might be close enough to spot the flames or the smoke. What he really needed was water. And antibiotics. Maybe a doctor or two? He didn't think it was too much to ask for, really, given everything he had been through so far today.

He had just carried Higgins back up to the fire for the seventh or eighth time when he heard it: a boat's horn and a voice he recognized even through the distortion of a loud hailer. His heart leaped in his chest, and he ran across to the edge of the tiny spit of land, waving frantically. The sight of the T. R. Belle cutting through the water was one of the loveliest things he had ever seen.

It took an agonizing few minutes for Rick to get as close as he dared to the atoll. Magnum had shouted that Higgins was sick as soon as the yacht was close enough, and T.C. leaped out once Rick pulled to a stop. He followed Magnum over to the fire where Higgins was lying, body still trembling as the fever wrought its chaos.

T.C. didn't hesitate, didn't even question what the heck had happened, just scooped her up and hurried off back toward the yacht, where Rick was on the radio with the nearest hospital. Magnum felt his arms shaking as he leaped across to the T. R. Belle and leaned over to help T.C. balance while he climbed aboard. He stood and watched as T.C. carried Higgins up to the soft couch where Rick had assembled a first aid kit, bottles of water, and some blankets. He took the stairs slowly, feeling his legs shaking in exhaustion beneath him.

By the time he reached the deck, Rick was back at the controls, Higgins wrapped in a blanket, and T.C. was trying to coax her into drinking some water. There was a voice on the radio that seemed to be offering advice, and Magnum tried to make out what it was saying. But the shaking had spread from his arms and legs and was making every muscle twitch now. He dropped heavily into a chair, feeling sleep tugging at him.

He wanted to stay awake; after coming so close to losing Higgins forever, he felt a nearly overwhelming need to keep his eyes open, to keep watch over her. But his mind was telling him that Rick and T.C. would do that just as well as he could, and he knew it was right. So, he did what he always did; he put his trust in his friends and felt the trembling ease as he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
